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Fascism and the Italian Renaissance

Presented by Dr. David Baum
Professor of Humanities and Director of Great Books
West Texas A&M University
Seating is Limited, Please RSVP:http://www.eventbrite.com/e/fascism-and-the-italian-renaissance-tickets-...
The talk will focus on the reception of the Renaissance during the ventennio, the twenty years of Fascism. I'll discuss both sides of this relationship: how Fascism used the Renaissance to promote its claims to cultural legitimacy; and how the study of the Renaissance was influenced by Fascist-sponsored interpretations both during the ventennio, and after the collapse of Fascist Italy. The latter has repercussions both for Italy and for the United States (which together become the principal centers of post-war Renaissance Studies); many Fascist-era scholars not only survive the war, but go on to have significant careers built, often without acknowledgment, on their work under the Regime in Italy. Not all of these are Italians, like Paul Kristeller, but many Italian scholars are involved, including Eugenio Garin, Giuseppe Toffanin, Giovanni Papini, and of course, Giovanni Gentile. The exploration of Fascist-era Renaissance scholarship is, then, an opportunity both to examine the relationship between Fascism and higher culture, and to tease out a more honest genealogy of recent Renaissance scholarship both in Italy and in the U.S.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 11:00am
Life Sciences Building E (LSE) Room 244
ASU Tempe Campus
~Refreshments and conversation following the seminar in LSE 232~
Please join us! Click here to reserve a seat: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/fascism-and-the-italian-renaissance-tickets-...

Free and open to the public
About the Speaker
My bio: I am currently Professor of Humanities and Director of Great Books at West Texas A&M University. Previously I have taught at NYU, Skidmore College, Union College, and the American University in Iraq. I hold a PhD from Yale University in Renaissance History; I have written on the reception of Plutarch's writings in 15th century Italy; on the Renaissance in American popular culture; and on my current project, Fascism and the Italian Renaissance.
Questions? Comments? Send an email to acmrs@acmrs.org and we’ll get right back to you!